Bearing combination



y 1952 w. M. WHEILDON, JR 2,602,709

BEARING COMBINATION Filed March 24, 1950 9 l WLL/AM MAXWELL WHE/LDOMJE Patented July 8, 1952 UgNliIiEiD .smrsis :o F Q :lfium oiz rrm'rron A f William Maxviiell -fi/Vheildon, Jr...

ssignor to Norton .Gompanyyworcester,

' :Mass;

'1 Mass Framingham,

a; corporation of.- Massachusetts .EApplication March 24, 1950;- Serial No; 1515583 EeClaims.

i The inventionrelates to-provide a journal bearing combination to meet unusualservice conditions. *Another object'of the invention is to provide a journal-bearing combinationwhizh will rundry without' failure. Amother object of the invention is'to provide a journal=bearing combination which will" operate-properly'and without unreasonable-"wear with such unusual lubricants as Waterand steam. Another object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination operable at high speeds and under high pressures.

vention is-to provide a 1' ournal bearing combination which-Will not deteriorate at high tempera- "tures. Another object is toprovide' a journal Another object of'the in- *bearing combination of extremely long life in "which the'twoelements thereof show little wear 'afterlong periods -of'operation" with the usual lubricants such as various oils. Another object -"is to provide a journal bearing combination which will not freeze even under-heavy loads and at high speeds. Another object is to provide a journal bearing combination'whic-h will not conduct electricity. Another object is to provide a bearing combination (involving no journal, such as in the case of fiat bearings) having one or more of the *above features and advantages. Another object -isij to.provide a bearing combination, whether journal bearing combination or involving ---flat bearingsor any other species; the-elements"of "which are'unusually resistant to acids and other corrosives including in this connection" water,

Which rusts iron and many steels, wherebyjthe bearing combination will not be affected by any liquids. I

Other objects will'bein part obvious or-in part pointed out hereinafter. anying drawings illustrating somebf the 'many possible embodimentsof' the invention:

.Figure l is an axialesectional "View" or a shaft having a 'journal piece thereon rotatably supported by a bearing,

.Figure' 2 is a'vertical sectional view' taken on the 1ine-2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an elevationofa piston-rodguide rand. slideway "therefor (the-latter -in section) showing ai sliding .thrust plate attachedf to the 55/ (orang s cpi'ston rod guideiand-tarslideway supportingmlate -heldrbythe slideway.

Figure:- 4 *is;.a;r.ertical: sectional viewttaken zon the linet- -d of Figure 3. The journal bearing. combination; of; theg pres- .--ent...invention is ceramic. bondedzsilicorr. carbide hand. 99%. z-pure. carbide; selected. .from; the 1 group consisting of tungsten carbide titanium carbide, and tantalum carbide and mixtures thereof ,zbut containing at least 80 of tungsten carbidessaid carbide being: bonded". with: from; 3 .0 %r to. 25%: of

-. cobaitat 1east.99% pure. Such ,materialg-is now readily available: on Lthe-;:.market and isrwidely .usedior toolzbits. a Y

The otherpartof :thejournalbearing combina- ;.'tion according: tOLthlS;iIlSZBIltiOIlJiS vitrifiedmeramic; bonded silicon carbide. abide should ;be 95% pure or better and :cancbe :made by :thewe1l ;known process ;of reducing '1 silica. with carbon .using;an excess;eof;.;carborr.yto

The:.silicnni-.car-

unite with the silicon vapors toi'producer'silicon ;ca'rbide. .SiC; this: process. beingcarried' outlin a resistance? type .r of electric :furnacez; as .developed by E... G. Acheson .beforethe'; beginning-iofithe ;.pr.esent century. Silicon. carbide so produoedais a friable massof. large:crystals and thisrmass'; is

crushed to. produce .fine grit of. fractured. silicon :carbide crystals which: are; then mixed .witl'rclay or claysawitlr or withouta .fluxv such asiifeldspar -and oftenwith some frit. *Wateris added tmmake athe: mixture. moldablerand thexmiXturefiistthen placed in a suitable mold and.pressed;.the-igreen -r.pieces are 'rstripped'gfrom the' mold, dI'iEdI-l and ifinally'fired to vitrify: the bondingrmaterialgithe' 1 heat treatment being usually; conelZheattreat- 1 ment. LJThe term frit, :wellzknown inztheiceramic arts, designates ceramic material; made" byllil-iX- :ing clay or clays and/or other. ingredientsjfusing,

quenching in water xor otherwise, andifinally crushing. '"Frit is ground glass.

In case the journal bearing combinationisi' for supporting a rotating shaft: and in some iscases where: a reciprocating shaft :iscylindrical arid-reciprocates in a bearing; theouter DiBGGiSPI'fBI- ably tungsten carbide. and the innerxpiece 'isrprfeferably: silicon carbide. However in'cases where the combination *is for the support of: a reciprocating part-which 'is free tomove in-onedire'ction norm'alto the reciprocation it makes nodifierence -which is the outer part andwhich is the inner --pa'rt. The coeflicient' of expansion of' :tungsten carbide is from 5 10- per degree centi'grade' to 7X10 per degree centigrade. 'The-coefiici'ent of expansion of vitrified ceramic bonded-silicon carbide is -'ab0l1t 4.5 X 16 per degree entigrde.

Thus in the case of a journal within a bearing, by having the tungsten carbide piece on the outside, any heating of the parts causes the outside part to expand more than the inside part thus preventing freezing. However, in certain in stances where excessive heat will not be generated the arrangement can be reversed.

Referring now to Figures '1 and 2, a bearing support ID has a cylindrical bore II in which is press fitted a sleeve [2 of massive tungsten oar- -bide. This sleeve i2 is the bearing and in it runs thrust plate 22 of vitrified ceramic bonded silicon carbide which supports a two part block 23 held together by bolts 25. The block 23 has a cylindrical bore 25 holding two semi-cylindrical sleeve portions 26 of massive tungsten carbide which are held from rotating relative to the block 23 by a gib 21. These two semi-cylindrical sleeve portions of massive tungsten carbide constitute 1 a bearing which supports a journal 28 on a pin 29 passing through the forked end 30 of a connecting rod. The pin 29 has a head 3| at one end and a screw threaded portion at the other end on which is a nut 33 thrusting against a washer 34 which abuts the forked end 31'). Thus the journal 28 is tightly secured to the forked endflflof the connecting rod, and the journal 28 is oscillatable within the bearing 25 and in this instance the journal 28 is made of vitrified ceramic bonded silicon carbide.

The two part block 23- as best shown in Figure 4 has a wide portion 35 just above the slide thrust plate 22 which is guided by L-shaped slideway guides 36 held onto the land 20 by means of bolts 31. However there is a goodsliding clearance between the L-shaped slideway guides 36 and the enlarged portion 35 of the two part block 23. Lug portions 38 overlap the ends of the plate 22 and hold it in position. Similarly lugs 39 secured by bolts 40 to the land 20 hold the slideway supporting plate 2| in position.

If the apparatus of Figures Sand 4 is a slideway and piston rod guide for the piston rod 4! of a pump, for example an air pump, the crank not shown connected to the connecting rod of which the forked end 30 is shown will rotate clockwise and the resultant thrust on the block 23 will be downward. If, on the other hand, the apparatus is a slideway and piston rod guide for the piston rod 4| or a steam engine, the crank will be rotated counterclockwise and the thrust will still-be downward. Thus the bearing combination of Figures 3 and 4 is a sliding thrust plate bearing combination." In such a combination it makes no difference which partis tungsten carbide and which part is ceramic bonded silicon carbide. The slide thrust plate bearing combination of this inventioncan be used in many other situations, that illustrated being merely one common use for a sliding thrust plate bearing combination.

Figures 3 and 4 also illustrate a journalbearing combination for the articulation of parts one I of which oscillates relative to the other and they also illustrate the case of a split bearing. The journal bearing combination of the invention can be used with superior results for the rotatable or oscillatable support of, machine parts where the thrust is radial and also where the thrust is axial. Accordingly the three embodiments herein depicted and described are to be taken as purely illustrative since thecombination of the invention can be embodied in any known mechanical arrangement of relatively moving parts.

For the fabrication of the journals, the bearings and the plates, both stationary and moving, molding, as already fully understood in the ceramic and refractory arts, is preferably utilized. For finishing the surfaces that are to be in contact with relatively moving surfaces grinding Wheels, particularly diamond grinding wheels, are preferably used. Grinding may be followed with lapping and in this manner beautiful mirror-like surfaces can be produced on the hard materials herein-specified. Naturally inthe case of journal bearing combinations the fit should be the best that can be achieved allowing just enough clearance for free rotation and for a film of oil or water. The journal bearing combination and also the sliding thrust plate bearing combination of the invention are preferably lubricated with oil, but so perfect are the surfaces when ground and lapped, so hard are the materials and so immune are they in the combination specified to the effects of seizure that they can run dry under considerable loads and at high speeds for a long time without deterioration. This capability-is a great advantage in many situations. 7 For the manufacture of a split bearing such as the semicylindrical sleeve portions 26 a full bearing is first made, then ground, then lapped, and finally it is split into two pieces with a diamond cutoff wheel.

Tests were made of the resistance to wear of the combination of this invention and of other combinations. In each test a disc four inches in diameter and one-eighth of an inch thick was rotated with its periphery against a fiat block, with a speed of rotation of 650 R. P. M. and a load of six pounds, for a total time of two hours and with no lubricant, the test condition being the same in every case, with the following results as to total wear on both the disc and the block.

TABLE I Total Wear Disc Block Cubic Milli meters Bonded Silicon Carbide Tungsten Carbide" l. 60 Boron Carbide Boron Carbide 7.00 Hard Steel Hard Steel 17.00 Hard Steel Tungsten Carbide 22.00 Aluminum 0 Zirconium O ;ide 36.00 Hard Steel Bronze 43. 00

combination, one element being bonded silicon carbide (as defined) and the other element being tungsten carbide (as defined). The journal bearing combination is a specific case. Slideway supporting plates and slide thrust plates are other specific cases since each is a bearing element. Each of the elements of the bearing combination is highly resistant to acids and other corrosives.

As a further aid to practicing the invention I will give some specific examples of vitrified ceramic bonded silicon carbide compositions actually used in carrying out my invention.

Example I Pounds 100 mesh grit size silicon carbide 11.2 500 mesh grit size silicon carbide 4.8 Ceramic bond 11.9 1.9

Water The ceramic bond of Example I had the following composition:

Example If The pieces made with the ingredients of Example I as the result of pressing and firing had 50 volume per cent silicon carbide, 46.5 volume per cent vitrified ceramic bond, the remainder pores. The pieces made with the ingredients of Example III as the result of pressing and firing had 63 volume per cent silicon carbide, 33 volume per cent vitrified ceramic bond, the remainder pores. For the purpose of this invention the variation in volume percentage of silicon carbide, ceramic bond and pores should be within the following limits.

TABLE II Volume percentage range Silicon carbide 40 to 70 Vitrified ceramic bond 20 to 60 Pores to 20 It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention a bearing combination in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A bearing combination consisting of two elements, one of said elements being a bonded piece of 99 pure carbide selected from the group consisting of tungsten carbide, titanium carbide and tantalum carbide and mixtures thereof, but containing at least of tungsten carbide, said carbide piece being bonded with from 3.0% to 25% of cobalt at least 99% pure, said bonded piece of carbide having a ground bearing surface, and the other of said elements being a piece of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,253,969 Dawhil et al Aug. 26, 1941 2,332,241

Lombard et a1 Oct. 19, 1943 

1. A BEARING COMBINATION CONSISTING OF TWO ELEMENTS, ONE OF SAID ELEMENTS BEING A BONDED PIECE OF 99% PURE CARBIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TUNGSTEN CARBIDE, TITANIUM CARBIDE AND TANTALUM CARBIDE AND MIXTURES THEREOF, BUT CONTAINING AT LEAST 80% OF TUNGSTEN CARBIDE, SAID CARBIDE PIECE BEING BONDED WITH FROM 3.0% TO 25% OF COBALT AT LEAST 99% PURE, SAID BONDED PIECE OF CARBIDE HAVING A GROUND BEARING SURFACE, AND THE OTHER OF SAID ELEMENTS BEING A PIECE OF SILICON CARBIDE BONDED WITH VITRIFIED CERAMIC BOND SAID PIECE HAVING A GROUND BEARING SURFACE AND SAID PIECE IN VOLUME PERCENTAGE RANGING FROM 40% TO 70% OF SILICON CARBIDE, FROM 20% TO 60% OF SAID VITRIFIED CERAMIC BOND, AND FROM 0% TO 20% PORES. 